The present invention relates to a card reader of the type having a body defining a support area for a card, said card reader having at least one contact terminal protruding from said support area, the or each contact terminal being designed to interact with at least one corresponding contact terminal on said card, the body having, on one side of said support area, at least one tab, for holding the card, extending partly facing said support area, the or each holding tab delimiting, with said support area, a channel for retaining one edge of said card, the reader further having a lock for retaining said card, which lock has a moving latch for retaining said card, said latch being movable between a retaining position for said card, in which said latch locks said card with respect to said support area, and a release position for said card, in which said latch unlocks said card from said support area.
Such a card reader is used, in particular, in an item of mobile telecommunication equipment, such as a portable telephone. In particular, such a reader is intended to accommodate a user identification card, in particular a SIM card.
It is known practice in a portable telephone to provide a card reader whose body has a cavity defining an imprint of the card. One of the edges of this cavity has tabs for holding the card, and an opposite edge of the cavity has a moving lock for retaining the card.
This lock is formed by a metal blade mounted so that it can slide in guide rails defined in the body of the reader. The lock can thus move between a retaining position for the card, in which one end of the metal blade forming the latch extends above the card and immobilizes it, and a release position for the card, in which the latch is retracted, allowing the card to move. The lock is formed from a metal part which is added and is thus separate from the body of the connector, which is generally made of plastic.
Thus, the card reader is difficult to manufacture, notably because it is necessary to add the metal blade forming the lock onto the body of the reader, and because tight tolerances are necessary to allow correct guidance of the lock.
The aim of the invention is to propose a card reader whose manufacture is simplified and whose cost price is reduced.
To this end, the subject of the invention is a card reader of the type mentioned above, characterized in that said latch is made as one piece with said body.
According to a specific embodiment, the card reader has one or more of the following features:
it has resilient means for stressing said latch, said resilient stressing means holding said latch in the retaining position for said card on said support area;
said resilient stressing means have a resilient arm which is made as one piece with said body and said latch, said latch being borne by said resilient arm;
said resilient arm has two ends which are connected to said body and between which an elastically deformable section is defined, said section bearing said latch;
said resilient arm has a first end, which is connected to said body, and a second end, which is independent of said body and is free to move with respect to said body;
said second end of the arm and said body have associated protruding and hollow means limiting the range of movement for said second end of the arm;
said body has an open cavity for accommodating said card, said cavity having a bottom and an opening which are opposite one another, and said support area is delimited on said bottom and the or each holding tab extends through said opening;
in the retaining position for said card, said latch extends at least partly facing said support area, and, in the release position for said card, said latch extends away from said support area;
a passage opening for said card is made within said body to allow said card to move in a direction which is approximately parallel to said support area; in the retaining position for said card, said latch extends through said passage opening and at the periphery of said support area, and, in the release position for said card, said latch extends out of the way of said passage opening;
said support area has, in line with the or each holding tab, a recess for freeing the edge of said card;
said latch has a ramp forming a cam which is designed to interact with said card when it is fitted on said support area, which ramp is oriented to cause said latch to move as far as the release position for said card when the card is fitted.
The subject of the invention is also an item of mobile telecommunication equipment, characterized in that it has a casing having a wall in which a card reader is integrated, the body of the card reader being made as one piece with said wall. This item of equipment is a portable telephone, for example.